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This image is unrelated to the article. [123RF]

A woman in her 40s who killed her two-day-old daughter to conceal an extramarital affair has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

The Tongyeong Branch of Changwon District Court's Criminal Division 1, presided over by Chief Judge Park Byeong-min, sentenced the 47-year-old defendant, identified only as A, on Tuesday on murder charges.

A was indicted and detained on charges of abandoning a newborn girl to her death on Jan. 15, 2016 — two days after giving birth on Jan. 13 of that year. According to the indictment, A parked a car on the roadside in Oesan-ri, Donghaemyeon, Goseong-gun, South Gyeongsang Province, and left the infant alone in the front passenger seat from approximately 5:15 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.

A had turned off the engine but left the windows open during the incident.

The average temperature in the area at the time was 5.73 degrees Celsius — conditions the court found too harsh for the infant, who weighed just 2.16 kilograms at birth.

A told investigators the infant's body had been buried in the ground, then later changed the account, saying it had been discarded in the sea off Goseong-gun. The body was never found.

During the trial, A acknowledged leaving the infant alone in the vehicle, which led to the child's death, but denied any intent to kill.

A also claimed to have stepped outside to smoke and take a walk while considering how to tell a husband and family about the birth, and said the car door had been left slightly open out of concern the infant might suffocate. The court rejected those arguments.

The court noted that A had not disclosed the pregnancy to anyone, had left the hospital against medical advice requiring follow-up observation, and that "anyone could easily recognize that leaving a two-day-old infant unattended could result in death."

The court added that A "did not administer emergency care or seek help from others even after confirming the infant's death, and disposed of the body in the sea wrapped in plastic." It concluded that "in light of these facts, intent to kill the child is established, even if only in the form of contingent intent."

The court said A's conduct "cannot be seen as that of a mother who witnessed her own child's death, and is subject to severe social condemnation." It noted, however, that the crime predated the 2023 abolition of the infanticide provision of the criminal code, which had carried a lighter sentence than the general murder charge, and that the applicable sentencing range at the time of the offense had to be taken into account.

The investigation began after a local government authority, conducting a comprehensive review of temporary newborn identification numbers, flagged the absence of any vital signs recorded for the infant and referred the case to investigators.

Prosecutors took over the case last year while A remained free on bail, and through a supplementary investigation established the causal link between A's actions and the infant's death, as well as the motive, before securing A's detention and filing the indictment.

At the time of the crime, A had been estranged from a husband and was in an ongoing relationship with another person, and is believed to have suspected the infant was that person's child.

Fearing the affair would be discovered, A committed the crime on the same day of discharge from the hospital after giving birth, investigators found.

Charges related to abandoning the body could have been applied but were barred by the statute of limitations. A charge under a child abuse punishment law was also unavailable, as that provision was enacted in 2021, after the crime took place. As a result, only the murder charge was applied.

A is currently divorced, and the person with whom A had the affair is said to have cut off contact around the time of the pregnancy and birth.


husn7@heraldcorp.com